What Caused Death and Injury During (and After) Ancient Battles?

Surviving the war was not a matter of intelligently planned decisions, but a series of reactions triggered by primal instincts. The animal instincts within strong soldiers inhibited

Dr. James Vedder, a combat surgeon who was stationed at Iwo Jima for his first experience with combat, describes the constant encounters he must have with horrible injuries and death, and ultimately concludes that “in all this horror, the job became routine,” such to say he become numb towards the tragedy he encountered so frequently. He lost his human quality of compassion and pain, and went through the motions of fixing mangled faces and missing limbs. While it is devastating for someone to see death and injury as routine, this aspect of dehumanization is likely necessary for someone like Dr. Vedder to mentally survive the war. If he were to fully absorb the death surrounding him, it is not likely he would be able to handle doing his job.

The diseases soldiers tended to face were small pox, measles, mumps, dysentery, and so on. The list is endless. Dysentery was by far the most lethal during the Civil War (Civil War Diseases 1). There was a 75% chance that if a soldier was injured, an amputation would occur (Civil War Medicine 1). This led to a tremendous death toll due to the bacteria into the wound. There were plentiful reasons as why a soldier contracted these diseases other than a gunshot wound. These reasons included, poor physical upon entering the army, the doctors lack of knowledge when it came to medical information, terrible hygiene, disease causing parasites, and lack of the basic necessities for survival. As you can see, this is a recipe for failure and death. For example, in order to

Since the beginning of mankind, war and the horrors that come with it have had devastating effects on both the minds and the bodies of human beings. Mentally, war drains soldiers of their ability to think properly. During a battle, soldiers witness bloody battles which frequently result in demise. Day after day of witnessing deceased fall to the ground, a soldier can do nothing but think about blood, gore, and his or her fallen comrades. Additionally, a war can be physically taxing on whomever takes part in it. Dodging or being hit by fists, swords, or bullets will inevitably cause pain and may disable somebody for the rest of their life. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque demonstrates through characterization, imagery,

During the Civil War, they had to have many medicines, operations, and surgeries done to themselves or others in order to survive (Jenny Goellnitz, Paragraph 1). Some of these medicines we still use today. Medical technology and scientific knowledge have changed dramatically since the Civil War, but the basic principles of military health care remain the same. The deadliest thing that faced the Civil War soldier was disease. For every soldier who died in battle, two died from disease.

Those who were recruited to fight in the war often came from lower class families and many were not disappointed to go to war as there were promises of bonuses, as well board and keep (Nash et al.,2008). Sadly, many of the promises did come true and the soldiers suffered overdue payments, which lead their families to much distress. During the war, the soldiers did not have enough supplies to satisfy all of the men they had in their army, so many went without proper clothing, food, and treatment for illnesses. The war was fought in close range because of the weapons that they were using, which meant that the soldiers often became face-to-face with the individuals that they killed. Because the medical services were so underdeveloped at that time, the soldiers were often better off without seeking treatment after being wounded. Overall, the war was trying for the army men both physically and

Weapons like the minie ball, canister shot for artillery, and rifled guns increased the number of dead and the severity of wounds. Soldiers who were wounded

The Civil War began because of uncompromising differences between free and slave states over the power of government, in April 12, 1861. Most people died in the Civil War because of deadly diseases. The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the most important event in the Civil War. Soldiers fought from July first to July third 1863. Do soldiers really know how to treat an injury during a war? In the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara’s published in 1974, we are exposed to historical figures that could have treated their injuries and made them minor if they had modern medicine. With the medical training we have today the figures could have saved their limbs and known how to take better care of themselves in such uncomfortable situations.

Amongst almost 3 million Civil War soldiers, over 600,000 lost their lives defending their notions of freedom and liberty in America. Approximately two-thirds of these soldiers, nonetheless, died from disease rather than wounds received on the battlefield. Lack of efficient medicine and health care caused much more impacting damage, as well as scarce, not up-to-date resources, and social divisions between the soldiers. Typically, an average Civil War soldier could expect to face extreme hardships and difficulties in their wartime lifestyles, including bad weather, unprepared, inappropriate clothing, spreading infections, and tensions regarding race and gender. Across

There was limited supply of medical equipment as a result they were using saws, scalpels, and knives to operate surgery in the field. It was long ago before the introduction of sterility of medical instrument and so the instrument became bridge of contamination of disease between soldiers. “Recalled on surgeon; ‘we operated in old blood-stained coats with infected hand” (Oates, 362). It was a head of discovery of antibiotic, wounds and scars could easily develop to infection and therefore limited their survival. Doctors and nurses were limited in number as well their distribution center around the battle. Soldiers were wounded so badly and doctors knew nothing except to devise amputations. They did all they can to alleviate the pain of the wounds by amputation but they were too surpassed by patients. There were no ambulances to carry victims to the medical centers nor had the doctors to see every patient with special

Do soldiers really know how to treat an injury during a war? Well in the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara’s 1974 novel, we are exposed to historical figures that could have treated their injuries and made them minor if they knew how to. With the medical training we have today the figures could have saved their limbs and taking care of themselves. There were three figures that were most important and had the worst injuries. Such as, Kilrain buster,chamberlain, and Robert E. Lee.

Post-traumatic stress disorder. Battle fatigue. Shell shock. All of these are names of mental disorders that soldiers come home with. The damage is caused by war. “What they [the soldiers] have seen and been forced to do is frequently so horrific and devastating that it simply cannot be tolerated by the human psyche” (xiii). The consciences of soldiers that participate in war can’t handle what they have seen and done, causing disorders such as the ones above. Soldier’s heart is similar to the aforementioned ailments. During the civil war, “Some men came through combat unscathed. Most did not. These men were somehow different from other men. They were said to have soldier’s heart.” A soldier has soldier’s heart when they come back from war harmed

Many injuries in the civil war were taken place on horseback. One of these devastating injuries affected John Reynolds. “ He was out in the open, waving his hat, pointing to a grove of trees. A moment later…. Reynolds lay in the dirt road…. He was dead.” ( Shaara p. 96) Injuries such as these in the civil war were lucky if they were treated in time. Sometimes, soldiers would have to wait at least a day or more till a doctor can treat them.

While idealizing the glory of war, as well as exaggerating the grief caused by it, Homer attempts to balance the dual nature of war in the Iliad; however, in an attempt to balance this duality, he winds up demonstrating that even the glory and honor of war is tainted with grief. Rather than being an epic that portrays the glory of war, The Iliad illustrates the grief that is brought by it, “‘war, in the Iliad, is a frightening and sorrowful thing’” (Giles 54). All soldiers, not only in the Iliad, attempt to attain kleos, or glory, however the damages of attaining it far outweigh the benefits. Rather than morning the deaths of their fellow soldiers, they continue on their search for kleos. This bubble of grief that was overlooked builds up, and eventually, like all bubbles, pops. In the Iliad, the pop is represented through the interaction between Achilles and Priam, and in today’s contemporary society, it is demonstrated by the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that many soldiers are faced with. Through the imagery of war, Homer exemplifies how both glory and grief are forms of trauma, as the glory forces soldiers to fall victim to the pressures of being an honorable man while dealing with the grief of losing brothers-in-arms.

“…Apollo knocked the helmet off his head and under his horse’s hooves it tumbled… / Disaster seized him—his fine legs buckling—he stood there, senseless… / Hector… came rushing into him right across the lines and rammed his spearshaft home, stabbing deep in the bowels…” (Homer, 438-439) Patroclus’ death is devastating to the Achaean armies’ morale and, more central to the story, it further disrupts Achilles’ already unbalanced sophrosyne. The torment that Achilles endures here epitomizes the human condition.